Every answer about visiting, booking rooms, deposits, Game Gurus, birthday parties, events, tickets, payments, coupons, and getting help — straight from the Haven.
Northwood Game Haven is a game store, tabletop event center, and board-game vacation destination at 115 W Spring St in downtown Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin — about 15 minutes from Eau Claire. Under one roof: a retail game shop, a free-to-play board game library, a retro-to-modern video game lounge, The Raft craft soda & float bar, three privately bookable themed play rooms (The Holt, Stash's Den, and The Depths), and two overnight gaming suites (The Lodge and The Adventurer's Rest). Our mascot is Stash the otter.
We're at 115 W Spring St, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729. Retail & café hours: Monday–Thursday 5–9 PM, Friday 4–10 PM, Saturday 10 AM–10 PM, Sunday noon–8 PM. The private play rooms are different — they can be reserved 24/7, even outside retail hours, using contact-free smart-lock door codes.
No. During business hours the board game library — over 1,000 titles, with roughly 150 on the open-play shelves — and our common play spaces are free, open use. Just walk in, grab a game, and play. Reservations are only needed for the private themed rooms, booked at gamehaven.guru/booking.html.
Open play is free during business hours — the board game library and video game lounge are included with your visit. You only pay for retail purchases, refreshments at The Raft, paid event registrations, or private room reservations.
Yes. There are family and kids sections in the game library, all-ages recurring nights like Family Classics Night where Gurus happily teach every game, kids birthday packages, and The Raft soda bar. Adults get their own lane too — 21+ After Dark birthday packages and after-hours private bookings, per our Terms & Conditions.
The Raft is our craft soda & float bar. It serves craft sodas, ice cream floats, and the make-your-own Dirty Soda kit ($12 — two craft sodas plus the fixings), with a Custom Float Bar experience for parties. It's the in-house refreshment stop for open play, events, and room bookings.
Yes — free guest Wi-Fi covers the whole building, including the private rooms. The network name and password are posted in store; ask any Game Guru at the counter.
Yes — really. Two apartment-style overnight gaming suites, The Lodge and The Adventurer's Rest, are booked separately through VRBO with self check-in. Pair a suite with room bookings, an event weekend, or the birthday Haven Takeover for a full game-cation in Chippewa Falls.
Booking Private Rooms
How reservations, pricing, deposits, payment, and after-hours access work for The Holt, Stash's Den, and The Depths.
Book online at gamehaven.guru/booking.html in five quick steps: pick your room(s), choose a date, start time, and number of hours, add any add-ons, enter your contact info, and submit the request. A Game Guru reviews it against the live calendar, and once approved you'll get an approval email with secure payment links for the booking fee and refundable deposit. Prefer humans? Call 715-861-3214 or book in person at the counter.
Three private themed spaces: The Holt (our flagship gathering den with big-screen A/V and shape-shifting tables), Stash's Den (a two-room hideaway with a big-screen A/V room, cozy table room, karaoke, and its own river-view back deck), and The Depths (our underground gaming dungeon). Each room is $10/hour for the first 4 hours, then $5/hour after — so a 4-hour room is $40. Minimum booking is 4 hours, maximum is 8, and you can reserve one room or all three at once. Wisconsin sales tax (5.5%) applies to the fee; the deposit is never taxed.
Every reservation includes a refundable deposit hold: $40 for one room, $80 for two, $100 for all three, plus $25 if the karaoke add-on is included. It's a hold, not a fee — it isn't taxed, and it's refunded in full as long as nothing is damaged, missing, or stolen and the room is left "reasonably cleaned": spills addressed, trash gathered. The full definition lives in our Terms & Conditions.
Everything is due by the end of the calendar day before your reservation — booking fee, add-ons, tax, and deposit. You can pay the fee any time after approval to lock in your slot and pay the deposit later. If full payment (including the deposit) isn't in by the day before, the reservation is automatically canceled, so nobody's room gets held hostage by a forgotten invoice.
Approval emails include secure Stripe payment links accepting card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay — the links stay valid, so you can pay whenever you're ready. You can also pay in person by cash, card, or check, or by card over the phone at 715-861-3214. Event registrations check out the same way online; in-store purchases are cash or card at the register.
Yes — rooms are bookable nearly any hour, day or night, even when the shop is closed. After-hours bookings automatically get a personal smart-lock door code emailed with your approval; it works from 1 hour before your start time until 1 hour after you finish, and only for your reserved rooms. For sleeping-overnight stays, book The Lodge or The Adventurer's Rest on VRBO instead.
Yes — 15% off room booking fees for active-duty military, veterans, and first responders. Check the box when booking; a Game Guru verifies your valid ID at check-in or in-person payment and the discount is applied. If ID can't be verified, the standard rate applies.
Yes. The booking form supports recurring reservations — perfect for a standing D&D campaign, club night, or league. Each occurrence is approved and paid individually, so you're only charged for sessions you confirm and can skip a week without penalty.
Popular add-ons: karaoke equipment (+$25 to the deposit), the Bring Your Own Food & Drink add-on ($40/reservation) for outside food during business hours, catering pre-orders, board games and consoles delivered from the library to your room, and a Game Guru to set up, teach, and run your games. Birthday cakes and celebration treats never need an add-on — they're always welcome free.
Reply to your confirmation email — it carries your booking reference and goes straight to staff — or call 715-861-3214. We'll cancel or reschedule you. Deposits on completed reservations are released after a normal post-visit check, and unpaid bookings auto-cancel on their own if payment never arrives.
Game Gurus
Who they are, how they teach you games for free, and how to get one for your event.
A Game Guru is a Northwood Game Haven host and games expert — a community member on our team who teaches, hosts, and runs games at the Haven. Every Guru has a "Foraging Focus": their specialty categories, from strategy board games and trading card games to retro video games, mahjong, cribbage, crokinole, and family games. Gurus review booking requests, run our events, and make sure every guest finds the right game. As Stash puts it: "Every forest needs its foragers. My Gurus know where all the good stuff is hiding."
Just ask — teaching is free during open hours and events. A Game Guru provides personalized recommendations, full game setup, rules teaching and instruction, answers to questions mid-play, refereeing, and complete pick-up and clean-up when you're done. At recurring nights, newcomers are taught right at the table, and learn-to-play decks are kept at the counter for card games. Never let "we don't know the rules" keep a game on the shelf.
When booking at gamehaven.guru/booking.html, check the option asking a Game Guru to reach out (or mention it in the comments). Staff match a Guru to your group's games and confirm details before your event. Birthday packages can include a Guru host, and the Birthday One-Shot is a Guru-run tabletop adventure starring the birthday hero.
Apply through the "Become a Game Guru" section on gamehaven.guru or email stash@northwoodgamehaven.com. Gurus share expertise in their Foraging Focus and receive perks: access to the full game library and our wholesale/retail relationships, a snack & drink credit during every event they host, and deep discounts on products in their focus categories.
Events, Registration & Tickets
Finding events, registering, QR tickets, check-in, and requesting the event you wish existed.
The live Event Calendar on gamehaven.guru lists every upcoming event with dates, times, prices, and full details. Every event also has its own shareable page at gamehaven.guru/event/<event-id> — great for sending to your group chat. Events are also posted on Facebook, Instagram, and our Discord. Weekly staples include board game nights, trading card nights, Trick-Taking Club, mahjong Sundays, and Family Classics Night.
Tap the event on the calendar — its page shows the description, schedule, price, capacity, what to bring, and registration options. If a question isn't answered there, email stash@northwoodgamehaven.com, ask on Discord, or call 715-861-3214 and a Guru will fill you in.
Open the event on the calendar and tap Register. Free events may just need a headcount; paid events check out securely online via Stripe with card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. You're then emailed a QR-code ticket — one scan admits your whole party. From your ticket page you can print it, add it to Google Wallet, change your ticket count, or cancel with automatic refunds. Many events also sell spots in store or at the door while capacity lasts.
Show your QR ticket at the door — one scan checks in your entire party. No QR handy? Staff can look you up by name or registration number. If your group arrives at different times, the same QR keeps working until everyone on the registration is checked in.
Use the "Request an Event" form on gamehaven.guru — describe what you'd love to see, and optionally how you'd like to be involved: just attend, help spread the word, help organize, or even host it. Every suggestion is read and considered for the calendar. Want it private instead? Book a room and we'll help you run your own tournament or party night.
Birthday Parties
Kids and adult packages, pricing, add-ons, and how booking a party works.
Pick a package and request your date at gamehaven.guru/birthday. Your date and rooms are tentatively held on the calendar the moment you submit, then staff contact you to confirm details. Once confirmed and approved, you receive secure online payment links — same easy Stripe checkout as room bookings, with the standard refundable deposit by room count. Kids parties (about ages 5–12) are the "Stash's Birthday Raft" packages; adult 21+ parties are "The After Dark."
Two kids packages, each with a Guru host running the fun:
Pup Party — $149: up to 10 kids, 4 hours in The Holt.
Raft Deluxe — $199: up to 14 kids, 4 hours across The Holt plus both rooms of Stash's Den.
Both include the party float kit, karaoke, and a bounce house (weather permitting). Prices don't include tax; the refundable deposit by room count applies.
Add a professional photo session for $50, or the Fidget Forge craft activity for $10 per person — birthday hero free. Karaoke, the party float kit, and (for kids parties) the weather-permitting bounce house are already included in the packages.
Birthday cakes and celebration treats are always welcome — free, any time, no add-on needed. Other outside food and non-alcoholic drinks during business hours require the Bring Your Own Food & Drink add-on ($40/reservation); for private bookings outside business hours, outside food is generally fine with staff guidance. The Raft and catering pre-orders are also available. Alcohol rules live in the Terms & Conditions.
Shop & Products
What we sell, how to check availability, and trading cards.
The retail shop carries board games, trading card games and singles, accessories, candy, and craft sodas. Three ways to check availability: shop online any time at northwoodgamehaven.company.site, browse trading card singles on our TCGplayer store, or call/text 715-861-3214 to check stock and place a hold. New arrivals are announced on Facebook, Instagram, and Discord.
Yes — we buy, sell, and trade Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon, One Piece, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and more. Singles are listed on our TCGplayer seller page, and the calendar is stocked with card nights, open play, and prerelease events. Bring your binder to any card night to trade.
The library holds over 1,000 titles — roughly 150 on the open-play shelves plus a deep vault of hundreds more — searchable at gamehaven.guru/board-game-library. Video game equipment spans retro to current generations (see the equipment list). Yes, library games and consoles can be delivered to your reserved room — just ask or note it in your booking.
Coupons & Promotions
Redeeming event coupons, promo codes, and store-credit promotions.
Bring it in and show it at the counter or the event door — either the printed coupon or the coupon link/QR page on your phone. Every promotional coupon carries a unique one-time code that staff scan or enter to validate and mark as used, so it can't be double-redeemed and yours can't be claimed by someone else. Event-specific terms, expiration dates, and eligible products are stated on the coupon itself. Questions about a specific coupon: stash@northwoodgamehaven.com.
Some events include limited promos — for example, a perk for the first group of registrants or arrivals, spelled out on the event page. Qualifying guests receive a unique coupon by email or at the door and redeem it by staff scan like any coupon. Store-credit promotions are tracked at the register under your name or phone number, so your credit is waiting on your next visit even without a paper coupon.
Contact & Help
Reaching a human, fixing a problem, and getting refunds.
Your ticket QR and any door code are both in your confirmation/approval email — search your inbox for "Northwood Game Haven." Still stuck? Staff can look up your event registration by name at the door, and can re-send a booking's approval email or re-issue a door code — just call 715-861-3214 or reply to any email from us.
Still curious?
That's the spirit we like. Book a room, browse the calendar, or just come forage the library — a Game Guru will take it from there.